Cattle are normally enclosed within the confines of a fixed fence line area. In most cases, there are several openings along the fence line to permit vehicles and farm equipment to pass into the enclosed area. When gates are used to close the openings, it is necessary for the driver of a vehicle to egress and open or close the gate upon entering or leaving the confined area. In order to avoid the above, cattle guards are provided in between openings in a fence line which facilitates movement therethrough.
Cattle and other farm animals are reluctant to pass over parallel spaced apart bars forming a cattle guard as they are normally placed over a ditch and create an unstable ground area. However, if the cattle guards are substantially flush with the ground surface, cattle will, after a period of time, eventually cross over the cattle guards. Therefore, most cattle guards are placed over ground areas that are sunken or where a trench has been cut. This type of arrangement necessitates that the cattle guards be constructed from thick gauge steel capable of supporting vehicles passing thereover.
Accordingly, a need exists for a type of cattle guard which is capable of providing a space between the ground surface while at the same time being constructed of a material which is light weight and can be easily assembled and placed between fence openings.
In addition, the location of the fence openings may be changed from time to time requiring additional cattle guards to be purchased. This entails a substantial expense to a farmer or rancher as the existing cattle guards cannot be readily relocated and are not considered portable. It is therefore highly advantageous to have cattle guards that are light weight, inexpensive and portable.
Cattle guards have been in use for over a hundred years, along fence openings, across roads and to inhibit cattle from crossing onto railroad tracks. Examples of various types of cattle guards including their general structural and operational features can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 117,600, 1,529,460, 1,620,348, 322,399 and 4,609,l84.